``We didn't play poorly,'' said Krzyzewski, who likes to examine his team in late February against a tough non-Atlantic Coast Conference team. ``If we would have played poorly we would have gotten run out of the gym.

``I thought we played great at times, but we didn't compete for the full 40 minutes, and to win big-time games like this you've got to do that.''

Duke beat St. John's (20-6) in overtime at Madison Square Garden last season as Thornton had 40, and the teams put on another classic in steamy Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Red Storm won its seventh straight.

``This team is being themselves and they're having a lot of fun do it,'' Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis said.

``This has been an incredible week, starting with (wins) over Syracuse, Connecticut and now Duke. It's too bad the season doesn't end now.''

Thornton scored 22 points this time with 11 rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer of Juneau had 21 points and nine rebounds for Duke, with 17 of his points coming in the second half, and Nate James added 20 points.

The Blue Devils (22-4) had a chance to win it in the closing five seconds. After a timeout, Chris Carrawell's 15-footer bounced off the rim and into the corner as time ran out.

``That was the longest five seconds of my life,'' said Thornton, who was guarding Carrawell.

``If we hit the shot at the end, I'm not sure that we deserved to win as much as they did,'' Krzyzewski said. ``Overall, I thought they played better than we did.''

The loss was only Duke's third against a non-conference team in Cameron since 1983 - a span of 129 games.

``The resiliency that our kids showed in the game is a reflection of who they are, their character, where they have come from and where they want to do,'' Jarvis said.

Duke trailed by one at the half and 75-70 with 5:57 left before James and Jason Williams sank consecutive 3-pointers and Boozer had a dunk and a foul shot.

The lead changed hands three times over the final 1:18 as Chudney Gray of St. John's made two free throws, James sank a 3pointer with 44.7 seconds left and Thornton nailed the game winner.

Thornton's winning shot came after Erick Barkley and Lavor Postell missed shots, but St. John's was able to get two of its 14 offensive rebounds.

``I'm just glad it went in,'' Thornton said of his winning shot. ``I was shooting the same shot all game from the same side. It was enough to win.''

All 10 starters hit double figures in a game that took on an NCAA tournament feel.

St. John's used a 15-3 run midway through the second half to take a seven-point lead as Duke struggled against a matchup zone. Some key plays by Boozer, Williams and James got the Blue Devils back into it and set up the hectic final minutes.

Illinois in 1995 and Michigan in '96 are the only other non-conference teams to beat Duke here in 17 years.

``In a one-game situation they are really a dangerous team,'' Krzyzewski said of St. John's. ``They are old, well-coached and play with a lot of heart.''

Duke went on a 22-5 run early in the first half after Krzyzewski called an early timeout to lecture his team on its intensity and defensive effort. Shane Battier scored 11 points in the spurt, giving the Blue Devils a 12-point lead.

Battier missed his last four shots as the Red Storm climbed back into it, closing the half with a 15-6 run to grab a one-point lead as Barkley scored seven and Thornton two baskets.

The Cardinal, who lead the nation in field goal percentage defense, held the Huskies to 32 percent shooting.

Chris Walcott scored 10 points for Washington (9-18, 4-11).

No. 4 Arizona 89, Arizona St. 82

TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona, which will have to do without 7-foot-1 center Loren Woods for at least the rest of the regular season, nearly blew a 21-point first-half lead but pulled away to beat Arizona State.

Gilbert Arenas scored 29 and Luke Walton 23, career bests for the two freshmen, as the Wildcats (24-4, 13-1 Pac-10) defeated the Sun Devils (16-10, 8-6) for the 10th consecutive time.

Michael Wright had 16 points and 14 rebounds, including two crucial offensive rebounds in the final minutes.

No. 16 Indiana 81

No. 5 Michigan St. 79, OT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A.J. Guyton had a career-high 34 points and Lynn Washington scored on a rebound with a half-second left in overtime to give Indiana the win.

Washington had missed his first four shots, but he grabbed the rebound after a desperation shot by Guyton and laid it up off the glass for the winning basket.

The Spartans (21-7, 11-3 Big Ten) immediately called time out, but a long inbound pass was intercepted by the Hoosiers (19-6, 9-5) as the game ended, and Indiana fans mobbed the court.

Alabama 80, No. 7 Tennessee 75

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Terrance Meade scored 19 points as Alabama beat a ranked team for the second time this week.

The Crimson Tide (13-13, 6-8 Southeastern Conference) also beat No. 11 Auburn on Tuesday, and No. 24 Vanderbilt at home 10 days ago.

Tennessee (22-5, 10-4), which was seeking a record 23rd win, is tied with No. 9 Florida for the SEC East lead.

The Owls (22-4, 13-1 Atlantic-10) overcame a sluggish first half and outscored UMass 26-7 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to turn a 27-24 halftime deficit into a 50-34 lead.

Temple improved to 13-0 at home this season. The Owls haven't lost since St. Bonaventure beat them 57-56 on Jan. 15.

Monty Mack led UMass (15-12, 9-5) with 20 points.

No. 17 Iowa St. 72

No. 10 Oklahoma St. 61

AMES, Iowa - Marcus Fizer scored 29 points and Michael Nurse hit five 3-pointers in his final home game as Iowa State beat Oklahoma State in a battle of Big 12 leaders.

Iowa State (24-4, 12-2) took sole possession of first place in the league and needs just one victory in its last two games to clinch at least a share of its first conference championship since winning the Big Six in 1945.

Oklahoma State (22-4, 11-3) was leading the conference in scoring defense at 61 points a game. But Iowa State topped that figure with 8:47 to play and the Cowboys couldn't handle the combination of Fizer and Nurse.

Mihm and Owens did pretty much anything they wanted against the Aggies. Mihm was 7for-7 from the floor and had 10 rebounds before leaving the game with more than eight minutes left and Texas leading 79-46.

William Clay added 16 points with four 3pointers for Texas (20-7, 11-3 Big 12) which reached 20 wins for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Texas has won 23 of the last 25 meetings with Texas A&M (7-18, 3-11).

LSU (23-4, 10-4 Southeastern Conference), which lost to Mississippi State in the first meeting this season, had to fight back to beat the Bulldogs in the second. It was the Tigers' seventh straight SEC victory.

Mississippi State (13-14, 4-10) tied it 63-63 with 2:57 left and trailed 67-63 with 38.5 seconds remaining.

No. 20 Oklahoma 83, Missouri 56

NORMAN, Okla. - Eduardo Najera made his last home game one to remember, scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for Oklahoma.

J.R. Raymond hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as the Sooners (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) moved into a tie with Kansas for fourth place in the conference standings. The top four finishers in league play get first-round byes in the postseason Big 12 tournament.

Kareem Rush scored 13 in his first start for Missouri (16-10, 9-4), which had won its previous five road games.

No. 22 UConn 72, West Virginia 71

STORRS, Conn. - Khalid El-Amin drove the length of the court and banked in a shot at the buzzer as Connecticut edged West Virginia.

After West Virginia's Calvin Bowman made two free throws to give the Mountaineers (13-12, 5-9 Big East) a 71-70 lead with 4.8 seconds remaining, El-Amin took the inbound pass and raced down the court for the game-winner.

El-Amin had 23 points to lead the Huskies (19-8, 8-6), who trailed by seven with 5:20 left.

Bowman had a career-high 29 points to lead the Mountaineers.

No. 23 Kansas 80, Baylor 70

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kenny Gregory scored six straight points in a decisive stretch of the final minutes and brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk as Kansas beat Baylor.

The Bears (12-13, 3-11 Big 12), losers of 11 of their last 14 games, fought the heavily favored Jayhawks (10-4, 21-7) almost even through most of the game and had the momentum when Gregory hit from close range.

Tevis Stukes had 22 points for Baylor and DeMarcus Minor had 16. Nick Collison led Kansas with 19, Jeff Boschee had 16 and Gregory 13.